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Peyton Manning throws a pass as quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts in 2010. (REUTERS/Brent Smith)

This is a guest post edited for BT.

It’s every NFL coach’s dream to get a quarterback that helps turn good wide receivers into great wide receivers, as that one key player can be the difference between a coach spending a long tenure on the sidelines or watching the games on Direct TV each Sunday. Take New England quarterback Tom Brady, for example, who has made Wes Welker and Deon Branch, two wide receivers who had little to no hype surrounding them, successful in the NFL. Peyton Manning is another example of a quarterback who is capable of transforming his wide receivers; his history with the Indianapolis Colts speaks for itself in that regard.

There’s no question that Manning has had some good players to lob balls to during his Super Bowl-winning tenure with the Colts, like Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison, but if you really want a good barometer of just how good of a player Peyton Manning is, all you need to do is flashback to the 2010 NFL season.

The Colts were hit with the injury bug and signed an undrafted wide receiver out of Michigan State named Blair White. With Manning mentoring him and throwing balls to him White excelled, starting four games (playing in 13) and catching 36 balls for 355 yards and five touchdowns. While many heralded White as a feel good story, having gone from undrafted to starting at wide receiver for the Colts, the real story was Manning’s ability got the most out of the players around him. Think it was White’s inherent ability that allowed for his performance? With Manning injured for the entire season in 2011, White only appeared in seven games and recorded zero receptions, a significant statistical drop that is largely evidence of the Colts’ struggles in the passing game. As of May 2012, White was a free agent looking for a new NFL home.

Manning is now a Denver Bronco and will make his first NFL start in over a year when the 2012 season kicks off this fall.

Denver has all the ingredients to make a run into the playoffs, right? Now that they have a star quarterback with a proven track record?

The answer is a resounding “yes.” While some may question the talent of the wide receiver corp (Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas, Andre Caldwell, etc), they need only look at their starting quarterback, who, if healthy, can make average receivers look like all-pro receivers.

The most interesting of the wide receiver bunch for Denver, however, is Thomas. The third-year pro broke out in the second half of 2011, culminating in an NFL playoffs record-breaking performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s where Denver has to be salivating; think about what Manning was able to do with Blair White two seasons ago and expand the effect to a player of Thomas’s stature.

So when you hear coaches brag about how certain players of theirs “make everyone around them better,” think of Peyton Manning. He leads by example off the field and on the field and is able to take average talent to beyond average levels. It’s why management should never be concerned about who they’re surrounding him with in terms of wide receivers. The Blair White example is prime evidence of someone who excelled under Manning and struggled mightily without him. And players like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne were very talented players who Manning also made better.

The bottom line is that if you’re a wide receiver and can catch a ball, Peyton Manning will make you good. If you’re a good wide receiver capable of the occasional highlight, Peyton Manning will make you exceptional.

Anonymous

That sound you just heard was Eddie Royal slapping him self in the forehead…

Doug England

I could not agree with this more.

The 2010 Colts team that finished 10-6 and made the playoffs had less talent than the 2011 Colts team that finished 2-14. (Trust me on this, the 2010 team was decimated by injuries.) The only diffference was 2010 had a healthy Manning.

Thomas is bigger and fasteer than Pierre Garcon.

Decker is bigger, stronger and faster than Austin Collie.

Manning will make stars out of both of these guys.

(Not to mention Dreesner and Tamme and how the two tight end sets will flourish.)

Anonymous

Very good article! I would say in the case of Deon Branch he never put up anything but average numbers and it was his playoff performance in 1 year that got him a big contract.

Wes Welker on the other hand was one of the most underrated and underused WR’s in the game. The average fan may not have known about him but players, coaches and die hard Fantasy Players sure did. Brady did not make Welker, he just went to a system that knew how to exploit his crazy good talents.

Manning has made a lot of very small average WR’s who could run precise routes look incredible. It will be very interesting to see what he does with big guys who don’t run those precise routes but don’t need precise balls either.

It really is a shame we lost Royal this year. He is the exact kind of guy that Manning could have turned into a perennial all pro. It was a bad move by him to leave and a bad move by the Broncos to not make a stronger play to keep him.

Management has done some really strange things this year to say the least.

Anonymous

Giving himself the “Royal treatment”?

Anonymous

I agree on Eddie Royal in that I liked him and truly wanted him to stay but if he actually had a chance to stay, even at whatever salary he had and chose not to, shame on him! He will regret it. While Philip Rivers is a good QB he will NOT be the guy that makes him an all pro by any stretch.

As for Peyton and this artical… I think the guy that will benefit most by Mr Manning is Eric Decker, just wait and see he will have the best year of his football days. Man I cant wait to see this in action!

Anonymous

LOL… Trog saying they have done some strange things is a complete understatment…

Anonymous

LOL… Trog saying they have done some strange things is a complete understatment…

Anonymous

LOL… Trog saying they have done some strange things is a complete understatment…